The Minister and his Champions-dream

Economy Minister, Peter Altmaier, is very much present: He commented on the future of Hartz IV, fighting for Russian gas and American LPG and still has a dream of time: from the European Champions.

The Minister of economy of dreams: from European community companies and even European Champions. But before he can explain what is on his mind so, in between, comes to him again and again, day-to-day business.

One of these everyday troubles of the SPD, focusing, driven by grass-clear voters shrinkage on their past as the party of the little people around. The social Democrats now want to make the self-introduced labour market reforms of Agenda 2010 undo.

The economy is a loud “don’t call the Minister with me!” in the room, while he must simultaneously appease the U.S. President: The Ambassador in Berlin had to interfere once again in the interests of the German government, and fire, the letter is written, in which he warns Berlin to of natural gas supplies from Russia.

Peter Altmaier, countered on Tuesday (12.02.2019), in which he promised after a Meeting with the Deputy US Secretary of energy Dan Brouillette, for the Expansion of two German Terminals for landing liquefied natural gas. So, Germany could import Gas from the USA and would not have to give up at the same time, the planned natural gas Pipeline, Nord stream 2 with Russia.

Controversial Industrial Policy

In other topics, in order to drive the Minister to date – for example, his plans for a new German industrial policy. Startled by Acquisitions of German companies by Chinese competitors, had Altmaier announced in the last week, even with limited Acquisitions of shares in the company by the Federal government to take decisive action.

This had caused a contradiction in this case of the FDP. The party chief Christian Lindner is not made for ideological reasons: “convinced Me that we should be because of the competition with the Chinese, even Chinese,” said Lindner on Monday in an Interview with the Reuters news Agency.

And Peter Altmaier, is likely to have already angered almost more than the opposition to its national economic policy ideas, he’s but to much more: Altmaier is not only a German, but a European business and industry in mind policy, which can compete with the overwhelming competition from the US and China.

The KI-Airbus

“I can imagine,” the Minister said in a newspaper interview on Monday, “that we are establishing in Europe a sort of Airbus for the artificial intelligence (AI). This group could be, for example, have largely Autonomous and would have a positive impact on many industries.”

The aviation group Airbus was an example of how a European community company enough market power could muster to counter the competition from the United States – in this case, Boeing. Today, Altmaier, would all of the Internet companies from the US and China. Here is a huge “imbalance”.

Airbus, the business of the European community, can be large. So, Peter Altmaier, to others can also.

At this point, a common European policy Altmaiers “National industry would support strategy 2030”. Peter Altmaier, is “to strengthen the German and European industry, and to protect, so that our companies can compete in the harsh international competition. This makes us independent and secures many jobs”.

The Rails-Airbus

A “Airbus of the Rail”, a “European Champion” that can compete with the Chinese competition, would have, had the companies Siemens and Alstom from Germany and France already almost on the way, as the EU competition Commission put in its Veto.

The merger of the two European industry giants would have affected the competition in high-speed trains and signalling systems within the EU is solid, had complained to the Brussels competition authorities.

That competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager has made their decision, hardly any friends, alone is your Problem. Mainly the decision is a severe blow to the industrial plans of Peter Altmaier.

TGV and ICE – with the German-French Siemens-Alstom merger has not worked it out already …

A European challenge

Not only the German Minister of the economy, is startled by Donald J. trump unilaterally to their own advantage-oriented US economic policy and its trade conflict with China that could also hit Europe hard. The economically dominant occurring Chinese represent, from a European point of view, a threat.

In the next three months, the Federal economic develop Minister, together with his French colleague, Bruno Le Maire proposals for a new EU competition law and is expected to be in may.

A very hard program

Until then, Peter Altmaier, has been drilling a lot of thicker boards. He needs to explain, not only in Germany, more precisely, how he envisions that with the “European Champions” in Detail. He must, in Brussels and in Berlin, the suspicion overcome him suspended a planned economy ill-fated East German memory.

The dispute within the Berlin coalition government, a shift away from the labour market reforms of the “Agenda 2010” has been brewing meanwhile. And Donald Trump is keeping the German economic policy in breath: alone with the promise to build two liquefied natural gas terminals, will not give the USA satisfied. The Americans want to sell their Gas and the Russians will displace the Western European market. Also, Peter Altmaier, is required.